I've got bad news. There's been a murder in Savannah.

That is not just a quote from a previous Office episode.
That is how I started my science class today.

Most of the class just gasped dramatically and acted all fake-shocked, but my hands-down quietest kid burst out laughing, which made me burst out laughing, which made the rest of the class pester me until I told them what we were laughing about. It was special. And annoying.

In regards to science, my kids have a lot of pre-conceived notions about what science is, depending on who has taught them in the past. To some of them, it is just facts and worksheets and an occasional lima bean grown in a paper towel. To some, it is just mythbusters and scientists blowing things up on television. I try to get the point across to my kids that there is a balance, and that science is way more real-world than they think.

So, today, I explained to them that there had been a murder, and the only details that we knew at the time was that the crime scene was a two-bedroom, one bathroom beach house (thus...Savannah). Then, we all got our science notebooks and headed to room 505 to find this:

We have a crime on our hands. Today, we looked at the crime scene, heard from "detectives" who took "statements" from "suspects" and we decided which evidence initially incriminated which suspects. Our victim is Felix Navidad, and the suspects are Vera Cruise, Kendra Good, Gene Poule, and -wait for it- Alfredo Fettucini. We're taking a day off due to other responsibilities in the classroom, and then on Thursday and Friday, we're going to do "forensic" tests to determine who really committed the crime, if one was committed. (Turns out Felix's body disappeared en route to the morgue, and reports that he was seen at the local bus station have not been confirmed.)

What my kids don't know is that there's no concrete answer to this puzzle. There's no page in the book that spells it all out. They will flip their lids.

I told them at the beginning that they were not to make any inferences or assumptions, and not to jump to conclusions. They knew they weren't supposed to, but they couldn't help themselves. The theories were rampant.

My class stuck to the basic players in the crime, coming up with different theories.

KC's class was considerably different. Their theories included aliens, WWII bombers, a drunk dog, and some very fancy jujitsu moves. It was hilarious. I can't wait until next week when they've done all the tests and must present their findings. I'll let you know whodunnit.